"Not all Who Wander are Lost": Adventures in Lost Cities and Temples

We visited our next World Heritage Site, the temples of Angkor, while in the town of Siem Reap, Cambodia. We spent three days exploring various temple ruin sites and admiring the beautiful, stunning, and ornate detail of the bas-reliefs, statues, and carvings throughout all of the sites.

Angkorian Temples were constructed by god-kings during the various dynasties of the Khmer Empire between the 9th and 15th centuries of the common era. Each becomes more elaborate than the next as sons outdid their father's temples and in general they vacillated between being devoted to Vishnu, Shiva, or Buddha demonstrating shifts between Hinduism and Buddhism.

We enjoyed exploring the temples and saw only a fraction of what remains from that era - there are 100s of temples spread throughout the area so we just visited what we could and did our best to find those that were quieter, which made for a more peaceful visit at many times. The temples are yet another example of the incredible craftsmanship of an ancient civilization and provided us the opportunity to see a different method for demonstrating power, status, and spirituality. It has been fascinating to explore so many different cultural icons and see and learn about these different ancient peoples.

We hope you enjoy your own visual tour through our journey below :)

DAY 1: 30 April

Angkor Wat - the largest and one of the last temples constructed during the era

bas-reliefs and carvings

South Gate - entrance to the town of Angkor Thom

Baphuon Temple - filled with pillars that have four smiling faces looking to each of the cardinal directions

different areas in Angkor Thom city

Preah Khan

More Preah Khan - we liked how nature is taking back the space

bas-relief of Apsara dancers

Image from Angkor Wat

DAY TWO: 1 May

On our second day, we rented bicycles and rode over 40 km to see a variety of sites. We actually did not intend to ride so far, but took an early turn back toward the temples that took us the long way through rice fields and country-side. It was a bit rough on the bottom on our bikes, but fortunately Cambodia is really flat and we had smiling, waving children who ran to the street as we passed shouting "hello," so it was well worth the effort.

We began by traveling 12km out of town to the Roluos Group which has remains of the first of the temples constructed in the era. They have a slightly different style and material, but it is clear that they inspired the later, grander temple designs.

Our rides for the day!

Bakong

Preah Ko

Cambodian Country-side

Pre Rup

Banteay Kdei

This is another one that shows the power of nature reclaiming the land and was one we enjoyed wandering through and capturing with photos so there are several!

Ant in his Indiana Jones moment :)

DAY THREE: 3 May

After the long day on the bikes, we took a break from temples and did some exploring around town. When we returned to the temples, we began with sunrise over Angkor Wat and concluded with sunset at the highest point on a temple built into and atop a hill - Phnam Bakheng.

We had a nice day for both sunrise and sunset, which was great. Many of you know our luck with sunrises and getting up early to see a cloud-filled sky. While a sunrise is pretty, it seems people may be either sunrise or sunset people, and we are clearly more into sunsets. We took far more pictures then and we find sunsets more stunning in their colorful display.

One of the highlights of the tour was the visit to Ta Prohm, which is the most covered by trees and nature. We were well advised to go directly there at 6am after the sunrise since the tour groups arrive at 8:15 and then the peace is lost. It was so amazing to spend the early morning visiting such an impressive site; it truly was a peaceful place.